One wicket in Sri Lanka saw James Anderson slip to second place and put Kagiso Rabada at No 1.

Kagiso Rabada has returned to No 1 in the ICC Test bowler rankings. @AFP

Kagiso Rabada has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers after a low-key tour of Sri Lanka for England’s James Anderson, which saw the record-setter manage one wicket before he was benched for the last Test at the SSC.

This saw Anderson slip to second place and put South Africa’s Rabada at No 1, despite not having played Test cricket since July.

The big gainer, though, was the leg spinner Yasir Shah who on Tuesday consigned New Zealand to an innings-and-16-run loss on day four of the second Test in Dubai, thus sensationally levelling the series for hosts Pakistan with a match to go.

Having taken 8/41 as New Zealand were skittled for 90 on day three, and then added two more before stumps to become the first bowler since Anil Kumble in 1999 to claim 10 in a day, Yasir added six more on Tuesday to finish with 14 wickets in the Test – drawing level with Imran Khan for the most by a Pakistan bowler.

This earned him a jump of nine ratings points to re-enter the top ten. Yasir slotted in at tenth place, two fewer than New Zealand quick Trent Boult who dropped two spots. Pat Cummins and R Ashwin moved up to six and seven respectively.

The left-arm spinner Taijul Islam also moved up six spots to sit at No 21 after claiming 18 wickets in two Tests against Zimbabwe and seven versus West Indie this week as Bangladesh claimed their first Test victory over West Indies in nine matches dating back to 2009 and first at home ever.

Editorial team of CricketCountry.

First Published on November 28, 2018 4:01 PM ISTLast updated on November 28, 2018 4:01 PM IST